Architecture Competition Spirala Community Home Honorable mention – Ji Zhang and Wenjun Deng

We’d like to take the opportunity to introduce you to one of our Honorable mention winners for our “Spirala Community Home” competition – Ji Zhang and Wenjun Deng from Belgium!

Honorable mention from Belgium

We are two young architectural designers coming from China. We just finished our architectural education in Belgium and France, respectively. Currently, we are working in Brussels and Paris. We have been collaborating on competitions for about two years. We enjoy working with each other and tackling the challenges together.

Brief information about the projects that you/your company have been involved with. For instance, what scale have you focused on/preferred, any significant projects where the company/ individuals have been involved?

As two young designers, we have been working on various types of competitions, from the design of urban furniture to large-scale urban design. At this moment, we do not have a specific preference for projects. For us, tackling different topics is also a learning process to figure out our role in the contemporary world.

What does architecture mean to you and what is the role of an architect in your society?

We see architecture primarily as a method to mediate the challenges in our daily life. Instead of holding any preconceptions, we try to approach every project openly. We believe that a simple but condensed answer will show itself in this process. For us, this is the moment when architecture takes form. So, we see the role of an architect as a mediator, who will first observe carefully and listen patiently to the real challenges in his/her own time. After that, he/she can give a reaction that will tackle the challenges and evoke discussion on a wider scope.

Why do you participate in architecture competitions?

For us, it is a learning process. We think the best way to know something is by doing it. And we think that participating in architecture competitions is a good starting point for us. 

What advice would you give to individuals who struggle to decide whether it would be beneficial for them to participate in architecture competitions?

We would say just try it first. For us, we can only say whether it would be beneficial or not after trying.